Battery Buggy B

[Slothface]

Daniel Wright had pre-made battery buggies for us last year. Is there a good kit with a low price anywhere?

Now, I'm not gonna say a lot, but we used an R.C. Car body and EXTREMELY modified it. Try a garage sale...doesn't have to be fully functional.

[robotman]

I managed to find this in one of my SO boxes so I thought I would share this is a basic design and idea sketch about Battery Buggies.



DISCLAIMER: DO NOT FOLLOW THE SIZES BLINDLY NO GUARANTEE THEY ARE CORRECT

[A Person]

For the gears I suggest lego gears, but if ran at high speeds, lego axles will melt or grind into dust.

Before you say "lego breaks"-A Classmate, I made my junkyard and battery-buggy with legos... and look at my signature

[mxz55o]

I receive an official answer for the following question:

I have a question regarding the "fixed point" on the buggy.

This years "Division B Rules Manual" for 2011 states:

===
The vehicle must have a fixed, pointed object whose tip is referred to as the fixed point. The fixed point must be on the front of the vehicle and within 1cm of the track's surface. All distance measurements must use this fixed point.
===

Does the fixed point have to be the **furthest** point on the front or can the fixed point be slightly behind the perpendicular plane between the 2 wheels?

Currently the wheels on our buggy project about 2 cm beyond the front of the chassis. Can I mount my fixed point on the chassis itself since that would (and I quote) - "on the front of the vehicle"???

Thank You.

The answer was:

===
No, the fixed point does not have to be the "furthest" point on the vehicle.
Paragraph 2.h simply says it has to be on the front of the vehicle and within
1 cm of the floor. It should be easily accessible to the judge who will be
measuring the distance.
===

[mxz55o]

What are the scores that everyone is getting?

Low 200's seems to be a competitive score. 3 seconds and within 10cm of the target.

Ok just wondering. Anyone else have any other scores?

What is the track distance for these values?

[mtheleman]

This score was at a regional competition.

[XJcwolfyX]

8 meters long 2 1/4- 2 1/2 meters wide

[arugi]

any ideas on how to make the thing turn around the bucket? the buggy we had didnt turn in the regionals and we got 3rd, hoping it will work in states.
do you recommend using CDs as wheels? It's a plausible idea, and it curves a bit. it's not too stable, though.

[robotman]

any ideas on how to make the thing turn around the bucket? the buggy we had didnt turn in the regionals and we got 3rd, hoping it will work in states.
do you recommend using CDs as wheels? It's a plausible idea, and it curves a bit. it's not too stable, though.

There is a ton of suggestions throught the thread look around near the beging of the thread

[arugi]

Thanks. I've checked on it, and came up with all of the possible ways to turn...
-axle rod on a slant
- wheels of each side have differing diameters
- wheels of each side have different motors with different RPM.
- Axles are not parallel
- Tilt the axis

I would like to try the bolded one, with an adjustable front, so that the axles's parallel differenciation can be changed. I'm just curious as to whether I would be able to create a moveable axis and still be able to keep the axis the same throughout the distance in states?

I've asked a lot, but I would gladly appreciate your help. Our last buggy didn't turn at all, yet we still won 3rd in Regionals for it.

[Gemma W]

I don't know if you've realized this, but don't forget that you have to put the car at an angle at the starting dot in order to arrive at the ending dot. Otherwise it will just curve off the track. You don't want it to hit any walls.

[Gemma W]

any ideas on how to make the thing turn around the bucket? the buggy we had didnt turn in the regionals and we got 3rd, hoping it will work in states.
do you recommend using CDs as wheels? It's a plausible idea, and it curves a bit. it's not too stable, though.

The problem with CDs is that they might be easily shattered after you impound or while you are bringing the car to competition. I'm not saying that you shouldn't use them, but you might want something more sturdy such as plexiglas, or if that is too expensive, something else. CDs might work well also though. Just a thought. Also, CDs are somewhat wobbly.

[Littleboy]

For Scrambler a few years ago, I used grinding wheels, (or whatever you call them). They looked somewhat like this:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200332103 (When I used them the cheapest ones came from Lowes but any hardware store should have them.
They are strong, not wobbley, doesn't produce friction, ect. They will work great.

[Gemma W]

Our buggy goes too fast, and so it skids at the end. We were thinking about putting a spring at the end of the axle to slow it down. Any problems with that?

[Gemma W]

I would like to try the bolded one, with an adjustable front, so that the axles's parallel differenciation can be changed. I'm just curious as to whether I would be able to create a moveable axis and still be able to keep the axis the same throughout the distance in states?

If you have the right tilt (something like 11 degrees I think), you should be able to keep it the same for all distances, with varying angles at the starting dot. However, it is still a good idea to make it adjustable, especially since it is difficult to get it that precise.

Unless you mean that you want to make sure it doesn't change by accident, in which case you just have to make sure the connection or whatever is tight and won't move by itself.